Return to San Lorenzo
by sueKay-04
Summary: Will Arnold risk it all to gain everything? Beta-ed by Iffy aka. TheUsedLunacy
1. Prologue

Hey there!

This is my take on the Jungle Movie! I know I know, hardly original, but I hope you like!

My muse is a fickle thing, so if you want more updates, please leave a review...even a one-word review is extremely welcome!

Well, enjoy!

* * *

**Prologue**

The rain forest was silent. Nothing moved, nothing stirred.

Looking up from her perch on a treetop branch, Maya gazed at the stars. This far from civilization, the silken swathe of the Milky Way was easily seen, along with the light of a thousand stars.

Maya's eyes darted to a mountain pass to the east. The first signs of sunrise had appeared.

As a pink glow engulfed the horizon and silhouetted the mountains, the first signs of life could be heard as the Spider Monkeys began chattering and scurrying about in a neighbouring tree.

At this time of year, sunrises were short, and within minutes it was over, and the jungle was bathed in morning light, the twilight silence replaced by the racket of the rainforest's denizens.

Maya smiled to herself, knowing how lucky she was to live in San Lorenzo. All too suddenly however, her mood became somber. Reaching into a pocket in her _huipil_, Maya pulled out one of only a few mementos of her family – a family she'd never met. The faces of her mother, father and brother smiled back at her.

If only they were here now. If only they could see what she could see...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a helicopter flying high overhead – an unusual sight so early in the morning. Maya watched it's path as it hovered across the sky. Her mood further soured as she saw it turn north – towards La Sombra's territory. At the tender age of six, La Sombra could already invoke a cold hatred within her. Maya shook violently. Suddenly the heat of the morning sun no longer reached her.

"Maya? Maya!" she heard in the distance.

"I'm up here!" She shouted down through the canopy.

Balam, one of her guardians looked up aimlessly.

"Balam! Hello!" she waved to attract his attention.

Smiling, he waved back at her, "Hey Maya...come on down! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Sorry," she murmured, "just wanted to watch the sunrise...I'll be down in a minute"

"Okay short stuff," Balam replied, heading back towards the city.

Maya watched him go, before once again gazing at the picture of her family.

One day, somehow, she'd find them, and La Sombra would pay for what he'd done...


	2. Chapter 1

Hey all!

Here's the first full chapter of the story!

Many thanks to acosta perez jose ramiro, TheUsedLunacy and Hellerick Ferlibay for the reviews!!

TheUsedLunacy - check your PMs at Arnold's Eyes :)

* * *

**Chapter One**

"NO!" Arnold sat bolt upright, woken violently from his nightmare.

After a few seconds he calmed down, wiping a sweaty palm across his forehead. When he was sufficiently awake, he flung himself back down on the bed, still plagued by the images from his dream.

This had become a normal part of his routine now. Ever since he'd found his father's journal, Arnold had dreamt of his parents. At first the dreams were happy. He'd travel to Central America and find his mother and father and they'd all live happily ever after. But when his grandparents had failed to raise enough money for the trip, despite selling their Packard to Ernie and upping the boarders' rents, he'd been crestfallen, and his dreams had turned into nightmares.

The dream that recurred the most was the one that was the most plausible, but also the most horrific. He imagined his parents' panic as their small biplane got into difficulties. Their terror as the plane raced towards the ground. And finally, the awful vision of their bodies, and later their skeletons sitting in the wreckage of the plane, undisturbed for almost a decade...

Arnold's breathing hitched, and he blinked back his tears. The thought of his parents sitting there dead for so many years while he went on with his life was almost unbearable. He knew he shouldn't feel guilty, but he couldn't help it, and that guilt was slowly eating away at him.

Arnold looked up through his skylight and wished he could see the stars. Instead the early morning sky was carpeted with thick cloud, tinged orange by the lights of Hillwood City.

He felt like his young life had hit rock bottom. His routine never changed – He got up early, did some chores around the boarding house, went to school, came home, hung out with Gerald and the gang for an hour, then spent his evening tending to the daily list of complaints from the boarders, before heading to bed.

Of course, no-one knew just how miserable and lonely 'Mr. Sunshine' had become. He was still the happy-go-lucky optimist he'd always been...

On the outside at least.

The clouds began to change from their murky orange hue to a dismal brownish-grey. As the skies lightened, welcoming in the new day, Arnold sat up, anticipating his alarm clock.

"_HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY-"_

He quickly broke the alarm clock's circuit, before rising and getting dressed.

* * *

"Hey Arnold," Gerald Johanssen greeted Arnold as he locked his front door.

"Hey Gerald," he responded, as they set off on their walk to the bus stop.

"Still feels weird, doesn't it?"

"What does?"

"Y'know...being a fifth-grader!"

"Oh...yeah," Arnold said with little interest.

"Just think...we've only got the rest of this year, then next year, and then it's Junior high!"

"Yeah,"

Gerald sighed and looked at Arnold, "You could at least try and sound interested. What is up with you man? You've been acting really weird since we went back to school."

Arnold didn't want to have this conversation with Gerald, and he was slightly annoyed that his friend had picked up on his mood. He kicked at some loose asphalt, avoiding eye contact with Gerald.

"I'm fine Gerald," he answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What do you mean? You've been quiet, lazy...You don't even play baseball with us anymore...You've even started snipping at Helga when she tries to wind you up!"

"So I grew a backbone over the summer...What' the big deal? I'm not nasty to her or anything."

"It's just...It's not you, Arnold...Being cheeky back just isn't you style."

"You're the one that encouraged me."

"Yeah on April Fools day Arnold, the one day of the year where it's every kid for himself...that and first Monday of June...Oh man we get to put the fourth graders in the trash cans this year!"

Gerald continued to talk at length about his plans for 'Dumpster Day' as the duo approached the bus stop.

"...I'm thinking on the Friday before dumpster day, we could bring in fish and stuff like that and put them in all the trash. The cleaners never work on Friday night, so the trash cans would be stinking!"

"Gerald, you're putting way too much energy into this...it's not for months yet."

"Dumpster Day?" Said Sid, "You can never be too prepared for Dumpster Day...Lets hear your plans."

Grinning, Gerald outlined the plan to Sid, and their group quickly grew as Stinky, Harold and Eugene joined in. As their talking grew more animated, Arnold noticed Helga and Phoebe approaching. Gerald seemed to notice too, as he stopped talking and tried to stop a wide grin from forming on his face.

"Uh...Hey Phoebe, Helga," he smiled nervously, causing Arnold to chuckle quietly.

Arnold watched as Phoebe blushed in response, "Hello Gerald."

"Hey Hair Boy, hey Tall Hair Boy," Helga said, a bemused expression on her face as she watched Phoebe and Gerald closely.

"So Phoebe, how are you?"

"Oh I'm fine," she responded quietly, and suddenly the talk of Dumpster Day was abandoned as Gerald and Phoebe walked away from the crowd. Luckily for Gerald, Arnold was the only guy who noticed as the others continued their scheming. Arnold doubted Gerald would be in the mood for Harold chanting "Gerald loves Phoebe! Gerald loves Phoebe!" - again.

"So Arnoldo, how are things on Planet Football Head?"

To anyone else, the comment would have sounded nasty, but Arnold knew it was good-natured ribbing.

"Just peachy Helga, just peachy."

"So what do you think the 'Big Announcement's' going to be today?"

"Huh?"

"Y'know...the Big Announcement that my sister and Mr Simmons have been harping on about since the start of the year?"

"Oh yeah...I don't know...Not given it much thought."

Their conversation stopped as the bus arrived and everyone filed on. As always, Arnold and Gerald sat together near the front of the bus, while Helga and Phoebe sat a little further back. Arnold smirked as Gerald turned so he could still see Phoebe from where they were sitting.

"Subtle, Gerald...Real subtle."


	3. Chapter 2

Hey all!

Apologies for the delay...I'm having trouble contacting my beta!

Ah well, on with the show!

Many thanks to acosta perez jose ramiro and Hellerick Ferlibay for the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Alright class. Everybody settle down!" Mr Simmons smiled as he walked into his classroom.

The talk among the kids was about two subjects – Dumpster Day, and the upcoming announcement from Mr Simmons and Olga Pataki.

"Children, please...Listen," Olga's weak voice didn't have any impact.

"Alright you bunch of lame-brains! Listen up, cos my sister is talking to you!" Helga yelled from her seat in the middle of the room.

Helga's shout had the desired effect, and the class all sat down, giving the teachers their full attention. Olga shot Helga a disapproving look, not liking that Helga had diminished her authority over the fifth graders.

Mr Simmons stepped forward, "Okay children. Today we have a special announcement to make. For the past few months Miss Pataki and I have been working in conjunction with-" a hand shot up, "yes, Harold?"

"What does conjunction mean?"

Helga rolled her eyes at the comment, but resisted the urge to make a snide remark. Instead she ripped some paper out of her workbook in preparation for spit-balling Arnold.

"In this case it means we've been working with lots of other schools in the state in order to bring you the chance to take part in this very exciting and very special competition!"

At the word competition, everyone's eyes lit up.

"The prize for this competition is absolutely amazing!" Olga gushed, "All you have to do is write an essay about any foreign country in the world, and you could win a trip for the whole class to that country! So if you wanted to visit Australia, you could write about Australia. Or if you wanted to visit Egypt, you'd write about Egypt!"

Helga sighed, looking about the class who had now come alive, murmuring about what country they'd write about. Helga herself didn't get excited.

"Statewide? Like any of us have any chance of winning," she muttered.

Mr. Simmons once again spoke, "You all have exactly a month from today to get your essay ready. We have a list here of countries you can't write about because we don't think they're safe enough to visit. But if you want to write about somewhere and it isn't on this list, then write to you heart's content!"

"If you don't know which country you want to write about, or if you don't know what to write about, we have these little booklets full of ideas for you to read." Olga passed the booklets to Phoebe who began giving them out to the class.

Helga watched Arnold intently. His expression seemed to be stuck on 'light bulb-moment', i.e. a moment when Arnold would come up with one of his crazy, football-headed ideas. The rest of class – Helga included – began looking through the booklet and discussing their ideas with the friends, but Arnold didn't. His expression changed, and a knowing smile crossed his features.

"Obviously Arnoldo's already got some ideas...What a looser...what goody two-shoes...what a nerd..."

* * *

"...but what a mind. What genius and passion all combined in that handsome yet oddly-shaped little head of his..."

It was recess, and all the kids were busy talking about their essay ideas. Helga for her part was feigning disinterest in favour of spying on Arnold from behind some trashcans.

Arnold was sitting on his own at a bench, furiously scribbling something into his notebook.

"I think Ice Cream's feeling very focused today," Phoebe whispered, startling Helga.

"Phoebe! What are you doing here?!"

"I just thought I'd remind you that Olga's on playground duty. She might get a bit worried if she finds you hiding in the trashcans."

"Yeah...like Olga'd actually pay any attention to my more 'odd' behaviour. She never does when we're at home."

Helga heard Phoebe sigh. This was the closest Phoebe ever got to showing that she was annoyed.

"Anyway, Olga's probably away busying herself watching Li-la or Patty or any of her other little pet projects."

"Actually I'm wondering what you're doing skulking about in the trashcans little sis." Olga giggled, crouching down to join the pair.

For once Helga was speechless, so Phoebe covered for her.

"Helga dropped her lunch money and it rolled over here so we're looking for it, Miss Pataki."

"Oh Helga, you're so silly! You know I'd give you lunch money if you'd lost yours...Anyway, I thought you were keeping an eye on...Ice Cream."

"Phoebe! What did you tell her?!"

"Phoebe didn't tell me anything. I'm your big sis remember...I know these things."

Helga looked at Phoebe, then at Olga and then back at Phoebe.

"Okay girls, while I ignore your obsessive behaviour towards Arnold, why don't you tell your essay ideas!"

"Well this is the weirdest recess I've had..." Helga muttered under her breath.

"I'm going to be writing about Japan, particularly seismological and volcanic activity. My father's family come from a city near Mount Fuji, but I've never been there."

"That sounds wonderful Phoebe! What about you little sis?"

Helga wasn't listening, instead she was peering through the trashcans at Arnold who had been joined by Gerald.

"Helga?"

"Shh! I'm being obsessive right now!" Helga snarked.

Phoebe and Olga began watching Arnold and Gerald too.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Olga whispered, "if anyone asks, we're looking for a dollar bill."

* * *

"Hey Arnold, you still writing?"

"Yep."

"What about?"

"Just stuff."

Gerald's shoulders dropped.

"C'mon man...What is up with you?! You've been quiet all day!"

"I'm just thinking about things."

"Like?"

"Does it matter?"

Gerald sighed, knowing he was getting nowhere.

"Okay. I get the hint. Sooo...what country are you gonna be writing about?"

"Did I say I was taking part?"

"Arnold...this is _you_ we're talking about. Of course you're taking part! So where are you writing about?"

"Guatemala."

"Guatemala? Never heard of it...Where is it?"

"You've never heard of Guatemala?"

"Can't say I have...You know me...My geography sucks...that's why I'm writing about Canada, because I actually know where it is."

Arnold chuckled and got to his feet. "Gerald you went to Canada during the summer...I'll help you find some place to write about."

As the pair walked off, Gerald reiterated his question, "So where's Guata-whatever it's called?"

* * *

"Something's up with that boy," Helga sighed.

"Indeed," Phoebe agreed.

"Maybe he's aware he's got two stalkers," Olga stated.

"Hey! He's only got one stalker...Phoebe likes Gerald and...And I'm not a stalker!"

Helga, Olga and Phoebe heard a sharp cough and looked up.

"Oh...Hi Mr Simmons...you haven't found a dollar by any chance have you?"

* * *

"Right Gerald, what do you want to write about?"

"Another country."

Arnold sighed, "Come on Gerald, work with me. What do you want to write about? Do you want to write about a country's history, it's culture, it's capital city, it's food?"

"I dunno!"

Arnold shot Gerald a look, "If you're not even going to try, I'm not gonna help you."

It was after school, and Arnold and Gerald were sitting in their local library. They'd spotted a few of their classmates there as well. Stinky was gathering up books about Hawaii while Sid tried to explain to him that Hawaii was a state. Rhonda was instructing an uncooperative Nadine to hold her books, while Nadine reached for books about Australian wildlife. And Curly was sitting in the self-help section, though sadly he wasn't reading any books...he was building a fort.

"Well what are you going to write about?"

Arnold looked away from Gerald. He knew exactly what he was going to write about, but the reasons behind his choice were known only to him and his grandparents. His parents weren't something he found easy to talk about.

"I'm writing about Guatemala."

"So you said, but why? What is it about Guatemala that interests you?"

"I'm interested in the native people...The ones that still live in the jungle and don't use modern technology."

"What you mean people that don't talk and live in mud huts and kill each other?"

Arnold glared slightly at Gerald, "These people were more advanced than us for a long time Gerald. They have their own societies. They have amazing architecture, their own music, dozens of languages. They're really advanced, but in their own way."

"That still doesn't explain why you're writing about them."

Arnold clenched his fists. He had no patience at all today, and Gerald was testing what little he had left.

"I'm writing about them because I find them interesting. That's it," he lied.

"Oh."

"What about a sport? You could pick a sport you like, and write about the history of that sport!"

Gerald grinned at Arnold, "My friend, you may have something there!"

"Okay, so what sports do you play, and what sports do you like?"

"Baseball, obviously."

Arnold typed baseball into Wikipedia, "It's English."

"Basketball."

"American, so you can't do that,"

"Soccer."

"Uhm...that might be tricky...it's origins are all over Europe, or maybe China."

"Ice Hockey"

"Scotland, Ireland and England."

"Golf."

"You don't play Golf, Gerald."

"But I like it."

"Okay...It's Scottish."

"That'll do nicely!"

"You're going to write about Golf."

"Yup!"

"Do you know anything about Golf."

"Not yet my friend! I'm going to go and get some books...see you later!"

Arnold laughed a little as his best friend walked off, before he started his own research.

"Okay Green Eyes...where are you..."


	4. Chapter 3

Hey all!

Long time, no update! Many many apologies!

Many thanks to SuprSingr and acosta perez jose ramiro for the reviews!

**Chapter Three**

"Independent Traveller's Guide to Costa Rica, Lonely Planet: Honduras, The History of Panama..." Arnold sighed as he sifted through the smattering of books about Central America in the teen reference section.

There was nothing about Guatemala in here, not that Arnold had been expecting much. Not to be deterred, he walked up to the librarian's desk.

"Excuse me, but do you have any books on Guatemala?"

The librarian looked back at him. "Let me guess...this is going to be for an award-winning essay?" She teased in good nature.

"I hope so," he replied brightly before quietly adding, "...well probably not."

"Tell me what your essay's going to about and I'll see what I can find on the system."

Arnold nodded before beginning.

"My essay's going to be about the native peoples of Guatemala, namely the Mayans and one tribe in particular – The Green Eyed People. They're very obscure...Not a lot of people know about them."

The Librarian – Marjorie – smiled at him. "Sonny, don't you think that's a little ambitious? If they're not well-known, you're going to have to sift through academic texts, old books, journals...You'd have to go to the city library and do all your studying there."

"I'm willing to do that...I really want to do this essay."

Marjorie smiled at Arnold, "Okay...You're probably best going to the Esposito archive at Hillwood City Library...They keep journals, papers and old books about Central America there."

Arnold nodded before a quizzical look crossed his features. "Esposito?"

"Yes? Something wrong?"

"Nothing, just a funny coincidence...That was my mom's name before she married my dad."

* * *

An hour and a bone-jarring bus ride later, Arnold had arrived at Hillwood City Library, it was beginning to get dark and he decided to call Grandpa.

"Hey Grandpa! I'm gonna be a little late home tonight. I'm at the City Library doing some research for an essay."

"_Okay Shortman. Don't get the bus home. Call me and I'll borrow the Packard." _he paused, _"Why did you need to go all the way into town to get books Arnold?"_

"I'm writing about the Green Eyes. It's for a competition at school. If I win, the whole class gets to go on vacation!" Arnold held off from telling Grandpa that he would take his class to San Lorenzo.

"_Mmm-hmm..."_ Grandpa sounded slightly wary of Arnold's plan, _"Well if you want to, you could pick up your dad's thesis there. He published it and I think the library has copies. He and your mom wrote quite a bit about San Lorenzo, but your mom wrote under Esposito. She didn't publish anything after meeting your dad because she was doing aid work and having you."_

"So I'll find more stuff mom and dad wrote?"

"_You sure will! I doubt you'll understand a lot of it, especially your mom's with all the medical mumbo jumbo and what-not, but it can't hurt! See you later Shortman."_

"Okay Grandpa...see you in a few hours!"

Arnold barely had time to put his phone away when it rang again.

"_Hey Arnold! Where'd you disappear to?"_

"Hey Gerald...I went to the City Library to get books."

"_Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then."_

"Yup, see you!"

* * *

Hillwood City Library was vast. The Library consisted of a special archive of Hillwood-related books and magazine, a borrowing library, a genealogy archive, and a huge reference library full of rare books, first editions, journals and articles. The librarian in charge of the Esposito Archive had given Arnold a funny look when he'd asked to look at some of the books. Nevertheless, she'd shown him how the archive was arranged, how to use the online search facility, and how to use the microfiche machine if he needed it.

Then he'd been left alone.

The room was dusty, but was still in use, with an older gentleman reading carefully through several articles and taking notes every few pages. There were smaller shelves full of new-ish books with kickstools to help people reach what they needed. But the walls were lined with huge bookcases full of old, thick books, and also volumes of academics' works. Most of the shelves on these bookcases could only be reached ladder, and Arnold sincerely hoped he wouldn't need to climb.

He moved towards the PCs in the corner of the room, and with his grandfather's suggestion at the front of his mind, he typed 'Shortman, Dr. Miles' into the search box. Immediately a shelf number was displayed – 13A. Arnold made a note of the number before putting 'Esposito, Dr. Stella' into the box. Again, a shelf number appeared – 13B – but it was accompanied by a text document on the computer:

"_This library wing was dedicated to the late Dr. Paulo Esposito, who died pursuing his lifelong quest to learn more about the native peoples of Central America. The wing was reopened by his surviving siblings – James Esposito, Catherine Dullington, Stella Shortman, Darius Esposito, and Jacques Esposito._

_May his spirit of adventure live on."_

Arnold blinked, seeing the names of his mother, aunt and uncles. Uncle James was an investment banker who had made his fortune and no longer bothered to keep in touch with the family – Arnold had never met him – Catherine had dropped out of high school, married farmer Bob Dullington and called their son Arnie despite the confusion it would cause with their nephew. Darius worked in aerospace, and Jacques had just finished his PhD and was living at the Sunset Arms until he could find a job.

Arnold had never heard of an Uncle Paulo.

Who was he? What happened to him?

Maybe his mom's journals held the answer.

After looking round the room for a few minutes, he found the shelves he was looking for. To his relief, he only needed to climb a few steps. He looked along the length of the two shelves, and to his surprise and pride, he saw volume after volume under the name Shortman, and volume after volume under the name Esposito. Arnold picked up as many volumes as he could hold and took them to the nearest table, before beginning to sift through the masses of information. He cracked open the cover of a small book inside one of Miles' volumes, and discovered that it was his undergraduate thesis titled 'The Misinterpretation of Mayan Myths: Hidden Signs in the Carvings of the Temple of Kimba'.

_So that's where Grandma got that name from!_ Arnold chuckled to himself.


End file.
